An arrest warrant has been issued against Prateek Thapa, the son of former Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa ‘Badal’, for his alleged role in a fraud of millions of rupees by duping people with the promises of sending them to the United States as the Bhutanese refugees.

According to the District Police Range Kathmandu, the District Court Kathmandu has issued the warrant against the son of the CPN (UML) Vice Chair and the former Home Minister. Earlier, Indrajit Rai, the advisor to former Home Minister Thapa, was arrested on the charge of his involvement in the scam and police said it found ‘evidences’ for Prateek’s association with the nexus during the investigation against Rai.

Police have already made high-profile arrests over their alleged connections to the scam and they are former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand and government secretary Tek Narayan Pandey. So far 12 people have been arrested over the scam while others two accused former Deputy Prime Minister and CPN (UML) secretary Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Neeraj Rai, the son of Indrajit, have been on the run since the warrant issued against them.

The UML has already suspended Rayamajhi after he was officially alleged for his role in the scam.